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Rare Beatles recordings launching exclusively on iTunes this week

A set of rare Beatles recordings will be released exclusively on iTunes this week. Titled The Beatles' Bootleg Recordings 1963, news of the exclusive album was first reported on WogBlog and confirmed by NME.

The Beatles' Bootleg Recordings 1963 will consist of 59 rare and unheard recordings from the Fab Four in 1963. The recordings originate from multiple sources, including studio outtakes and songs recorded live for the BBC. According to the BBC, the album is being released in order to stop the expiration of the record's copyright:

EU law protects songs for 70 years after they are recorded, but only if they get an official release. Otherwise, copyright lasts 50 years.

In the case of The Beatles, that means their 1963 debut album Please Please Me is protected until 2033, but the unreleased session tapes for that album are not.

If the Beatles chose not to release the recordings before the end of the year, it would mean other record labels could theoretically put them out and profit from them.